


Forever and Always.

by CristinaBlackthornKingson



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Abortion, Announcements, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Brother Feels, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Childbirth, Criticism, Disability, Disabled Character, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen, Little Brothers, Little Sisters, M/M, Miscarriage, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Multi, Music, Other, Paparazzi, Pregnancy, Protective Older Brothers, Protective Siblings, Step-parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27919213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson
Summary: In early 2022 Philip and Martha are expecting their first child. Everything seems to be going normally and smoothly, until an ultrasound at 13 weeks reveals that the baby has Down's Syndrome.Philip and Martha know they love their child regardless, but how will their families react, and how will the public react to a future monarch with a disability?
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont & Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont/Leo, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Leo Claremont & Alex Claremont-Diaz, Leo Claremont & June Claremont-Diaz, Leo Claremont & Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Queen Mary, Zahra Bankston/Shaan Srivastava
Kudos: 30





	Forever and Always.

**Author's Note:**

> ***TW/CW***  
> Severe ableism.  
> Abelist slurs mentioned/referenced but not used.  
> Abortion.  
> Bribery.  
> Miscarriage.  
> Infant Loss/Still Birth.  
> Lying about Miscarriage and Infant Loss.  
> Eugenics.  
> Parent loss/death.

It is a frosty and cold Winter’s day in 2022 when what is suppose to be one of the happiest and most exciting days of Martha and Philip’s lives, turns into a day full of fear and worry.

Just 2 months ago, after only 2 months of trying, Martha found out she was pregnant with her and Philip’s first child, and they were both simply ecstatic. They had both known for a while that they wanted children, but chose to take a few years after getting married, to simply enjoy their lives and do things they won’t be able to do much of with a baby, like travelling. 

Today is Martha’s 13 week ultrasound, and she and Philip are beyond excited. They’ve had a couple of scans so far, to ensure that everything is healthy and developing as it should, but to the untrained eye there wasn’t much to see, now according to Google, at 13 weeks the baby will look much more like an actual baby and Philip and Martha simply can’t wait to see their little one. 

“Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl at this stage?” Philip curiously asks the doctor, holding tightly to Martha’s hand and watching the screen in awe, as the OB moves the ultrasound probe around Martha’s stomach. 

“Not from an ultrasound no, but the blood test you had done at 10 weeks can, have you changed your mind, do you want to find out the sex?” The OB asks. Philip and Martha share a grin and Philip shakes his head. 

“No, we want it to be a surprise, I was just curious.” 

“When should I start to feel the baby move? I haven’t felt anything yet.” Martha asks nervously, terrified that something is wrong. The OB turns to her and smiles kindly. 

“Not until at least 16 weeks, and given that this is your first pregnancy you might not feel anything until closer to 20 weeks, don’t worry we’ll keep a good eye on you and baby to make sure everything is as it should be.” This gives Martha some sense of relief, and allows her to relax a little. 

After that there is silence for about 10 minutes, the OB has a very good poker face but there is a building tension in the room and Philip and Martha begin to worry.

“I-is everything alright?” Martha nervously asks, gripping Philip’s hand tightly. 

The OB sets the ultrasound probe down and turns to face Philip and Martha. 

“This is likely going to come as a shock to you, but please try not to worry. It seems that the early blood tests you had done to detect any genetic issues, weren’t entirely accurate. When I was performing the ultrasound and focused in on baby’s nuchal translucency- which is the space between baby’s spine and the back of their neck- I was able to see that the fluid there is quiet a lot thicker than we would expect to see in an average baby. 

This usually indicates Down’s Syndrome, it is not 100% accurate, no test is, but it is 94% percent accurate, so not very likely to be incorrect.” 

Unsurprisingly there is a shocked silence in the room following the OB’s words, neither Philip nor Martha know what to say or think. They were and are both fully prepared for the possibility of having an ill and/or disabled child, they both knew and know they will love their baby no matter what, but it is still such a shock. 

“What... what do we do now?” Martha weakly asks. 

“Well if you like we can do further testing to double check the diagnoses, non of it is 100% accurate as I said, but if it’s something you’d like to do then we can certainly do it for you.” The OB calmly explains. 

“What sort of tests?” Martha asks. 

“There’s 2, one called Chorionic villus sampling or CVS, which is where we take a piece of the placenta and send it off the to the lab for testing and analysis, and the second is called Amniocentesis , where we collect a sample of amniotic fluid and send it off to the lab for testing and analysis. Of course both of these procedures also come with risks, mainly infection and miscarriage.” 

Martha and Philip share a look, and silently come to an agreement. 

“We don’t want any of the further tests done, not when there’s a risk of miscarriage, to us it’s unnecessary. We’re prepared to raise a disabled child and we’ll love our baby regardless, if the ultrasound turns out to be wrong and the baby doesn’t have Down’s Syndrome then that’s fine too.” Martha tells the doctor, sharing a look full of love with Philip. 

“That’s perfectly fine.” The OB tells them. 

“Will this impact baby’s quality of life? I’m ashamed to say I don’t know much about Down’s Syndrome or many other disabilities.” Philip asks in an embarrassed tone, knowing he’s going to have to do a lot more to educate himself, especially now his own child has a disability. 

“Not at all, most people with Down’s Syndrome have very happy and normal lives.” The doctor assures them. Philip lets out a breathy sigh and then turns to Martha and smiles lovingly at her. 

“It’s a shock, but we’ll love our baby no matter what and give them the best life anyone could ask for.” Martha returns her husband’s grin and slips her hand into his. 

“Yes we will.” 

Over the next couple of weeks Philip and Martha take some time to process this news and do some research into Down’s Syndrome, before deciding to tell their friends and family. 

2 weeks after receiving the diagnoses they invite Catherine, Bea, Henry, Alex and The Queen to lunch at Anmer Hall where they plan to tell them the news. 

Over lunch they discuss many things, like Catherine’s new charity that provides free books to young children, that helps to promote and foster a love of reading at a young age. The Charity also funds and supplies secondary schools all across Britain, with library books and supports and encourages creative writing, poetry, etc, in young people. 

They discuss Henry and Alex’s wedding plans (much to Mary’s dismay) as well as Bea’s new job (voluntary of course) where she goes to local primary and secondary schools and provides free music lessons to absolutely anyone who wants them. 

“I honestly don’t see why we were sent to private school, the public school’s are perfectly nice, alright some of the kids are dickheads but you get that everywhere!” Bea is saying, making Alex choke on his drink and causing Mary to shoot her a disapproving glare. 

“Bea you can’t call kids dickheads!” Henry protests, patting Alex on the back as he coughs and splutters. 

“I could have called them much worse, and frankly some of them were being dickheads, one of the little monsters kept kicking me under the table when I had lunch with their class, another one kept showing me the chewed up food in their mouth, little buggers.” Bea defends herself. 

“I hope you won’t be calling your niece or nephew such names.” Catherine laughs. 

“Oh as if Philip didn’t call me ugly when I was born and ask to give me back!” Bea laughs, remembering the stories her parents have told she and her brothers of how Philip reacted to Bea coming into the family, and how Philip and Bea reacted to Henry when he was born. 

“At least he didn’t try and hand you back to the midwife like you did with me.” Henry points out.

“Actually, speaking of the baby.” Martha interrupts, her hand resting on her small but noticeable bump. “We have something we need to tell you about them, something we found out at our last scan.” 

“What is it, is everything okay?” Henry asks in a concerned tone. 

“We found out that the baby has Down’s Syndrome. It was rather a shock and it took some time to process, but it doesn’t change anything. Martha and I still love this little baby more than anything in the whole world and simply cannot wait to meet them. We’re aware that they’re going to need some extra help and care throughout their life but we can easily and happily provide that, like I said we still adore our baby and cannot wait to hold them.” Philip softly says, laying his hand over Martha’s and leaning in to kiss her cheek. 

“Doesn’t make a difference to me either.” Bea is the first to speak up. “I still can’t wait to be an aunty and I’m still going to be a terrible influence on them!” 

“Hey remember our agreement, we get to share the irresponsibility! You get to let them eat lots of sugar and I get to let them stay up late and watch scary movies.” Alex points out, since he is also looking forward to being the cool and fun uncle.

“And I’ll make sure those two don’t get the little mite into too much trouble, if I can.” Henry assures them. 

“You know I’ll always love my grandchild no matter what, just as I’ll always love my children no matter what. Your baby is still a very loved member of this family, no matter what.” Catherine says.

But of course it wouldn’t be a Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor family gathering, without some horrid words from Queen Mary.

“No.” Mary’s voice rings sharp and cold through the room. “You are all absolute fools to think you can just carry on as normal. It may make no difference to a normal family but we are far from a normal family and cannot have this taint in the family. Martha you must terminate the pregnancy, that’s all there is to it.” 

Alex drops his fork, making a loud clatter, while the rest of the family stares at Queen Mary in horror. 

“I thought you were staunchly anti-abortion.” Bea points out, thinking of all the arguments she and grandmother have gotten in over a person's right to choose. 

“Well of course I am but in some cases it is a necessary evil, especially in this case.” Mary calmly replies. 

“What do you expect them to tell the public, mum? They’ve already announced the pregnancy.” Catherine asks, not at all prepared for the heinous response her mother is about to give.

“They will simply tell them it was a miscarriage, it’s not an unusual occurrence, what did that Holleran girl say about the statistics, 1 in 4, was it?” 

“Miscarriage isn’t something you lie about Gran, it’s a serious and heartbreaking thing that happens to a lot of people. How could you even suggest that, especially now when you know Shaan and Zahra just lost a pregnancy?” Henry asks in an angered tone of disgust, thinking of poor Shaan and Zahra, and how utterly devastated they are. 

“I am under no circumstance having an abortion.” Martha firmly says, before Queen Mary can reply. 

“Well you certainly can’t keep it Martha, we cannot have a r_” before Mary can finish the word she was about to call her great-grandchild, Catherine cuts her off. 

“Don’t mum, don’t you fucking dare say what I know you are about to say.” Mary humphs and purses her lips. 

“We cannot have a.... impure heir to the throne, it simply won’t do. If you refuse to have an abortion then you should have the child and place it in a home for others with the same... issues. As I said we can tell the public it was a tragic late loss and they’ll be non the wiser.” 

Martha’s eyes are filled with tears and the tears start to run down her face. She shakes her head and pushes her chair back from the table before walking out of the room. 

Henry glares at his grandmother before quietly saying 

“I’ll go keep her company.” 

Philip shoots his brother a grateful look, then once he is out of the room Philip turns to his grandmother. 

“Listen Gran, I frankly do not give a fuck what you think about my child. Your views are outdated and disgusting, I don’t know why I’m surprised, your favoriet PM was Churchill, a fucking eugenicist. My child is beautiful and perfect exactly as they are, we are keeping her, we are raising her and she is going to have the best life anyone could ask for. 

And if you think for one second you will have any involvement in my child’s life after this, you have another thing coming. I don’t care if you’re The Queen, you are not welcome to be in my child’s life and you are not welcome to speak to Martha or I ever again. 

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go comfort my wife.” 

With that, Philip stands up and leaves the room. 

He quickly finds Martha and Henry in a nearby drawing room, sitting together on one of the couches, Henry frowning and offering Martha a packet of tissues, as she dabs at her eyes. 

Philip approaches them and places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. 

“Thanks for being here Haz, but could Martha and I have a minute alone please?” He quietly asks. Henry nods. 

“Of course, no problem.” 

Once Henry leaves, Philip takes his seat next to Martha and embraces his wife tightly. 

“It’s alright.” He softly says, smoothing a hand over her hair. “I’d never let anyone harm a hair on our baby’s head.” 

“What if they’re bald?” Martha asks in a amused but shaky tone. Philip laughs and kisses the top of her head. 

“Then I just simply won’t let anyone to harm them at all, full stop.” 

“I don’t want your Gran involved with the baby, Pip, at all.” Martha says, looking up at her husband to gauge his reaction. 

“I agree, I don’t either. She’s a toxic and nasty person and our baby doesn’t need that in their life.” 

“We should ask Henry to help us write our speech, telling the public that baby has Down’s Syndrome.” Martha says. Philip nods. 

“Good idea.” 

They had initially planned on broadcasting the speech over the radio and TV, but couldn’t do so with The Queen’s permission, which she would not give. So they instead decided to record the speech in video format and post it to social media. 

It’s a daunting task for two people who have never enjoyed the spotlight much, but having each other and the love and support of their family makes it a lot easier. 

Two weeks after telling their family and friends about the baby’s diagnoses, Philip and Martha find themselves sitting in one of the living rooms of Anmer Hall, dressed up and ready to record and post their speech. 

“Ready?” Bea asks, from her position by Martha’s phone that she fixed to a tri-pod to get the best shot possible. 

“Yes, as I’ll ever be.” Martha says, while Philip nods. 

“Okay then.” Bea presses the record button on Martha’s phone and nods at she and Philip to let them know to start speaking. 

“Hello everyone, I’m sure it’s a bit of a shock to see a speech like this so casually on social media, but we were unable to broadcast this speech in a traditional manner, as we did not and do not have The Queen’s approval to even tell you this news.” Martha begins, doing her best to keep her voice steady and calm, as she grips tightly to Philip’s hand, resting in her lap. 

“As you all know Martha and I are expecting our first baby in May. A month ago now, we received some unexpected news at one of our ultrasounds.” Philip picks up where Martha left off.

“On the ultrasound it was discovered that our baby has Down’s Syndrome. This came as quiet a shock to Philip and I, as I’m sure it does to many if not all parents who receive the same news. We were worried about how it would impact our child and their quality of life, but after doing some research and speaking to people with Down’s Syndrome, we now know our baby has every chance of having a happy and normal life.

We love and cherish our child no matter what, and we cannot wait to welcome them into the world.” Martha’s hand has now come up to rest across her stomach. 

“We are beyond grateful to be able to provide our child with any and all additional help they will need, and we are thrilled to have the unconditional love and support of our family and friends. If anyone watching is in the same boat as us, or you are indeed a person with Down’s Syndrome who has something to say to us, please feel free to reach out and communicate with us online, or send us a letter. We are always happy to communicate with you who we serve as Royals, and we would especially love to discuss this topic with you all.” Philip’s tone is calm but also full of love and joy at the thought of his child. 

“Thank you all for watching this video and listening to us. We are sending you all love and positivity, and we look forward to sharing with you the news of our baby’s birth, in just 5 short months.” 

A few seconds later Bea gives them another nod to let them know that the recording has stopped. Martha immediately sighs and leans back against the couch, nervous and anxious as to how the public will receive this news. 

“It’s going to be alright.” Philip’s calm and familiar voice reassures Martha. “Whatever happens, it’s going to be okay.” 

Within hours the video has blown up, it’s already gone viral and is being discussed absolutely everywhere. Unsurprisingly the reactions are incredibly mixed, a lot of people are empathetic towards the Royal couple and reach out with their own stories, others don’t care at all, and an unfortunately large amount are outraged and repulsed, sending nasty and hateful messages and replies, threatening Martha and the baby, leading to a massive increase in security at Anmer Hall.

Two months later the news is still a huge deal, still viral and still being discussed everywhere. 

Today, a mild March day, is suppose to be calm and quiet for Martha. Philip is out for lunch with Henry and Bea, a tradition the 3 of them started just after Henry left for America, he’s often back in London so every 3 or so months, the 3 siblings meet up for lunch together, to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. 

Martha is sitting in the living room in Anmer Hall, watching a light-hearted comedy show to get her mind off all the negativity surrounding her and Philip lately, when her phone starts to buzz with an incoming call from Philip’s Equerry, Thomas. 

“Hello?” Martha answers, turning the TV down and wondering why Thomas is calling her. 

“M’am.” Thomas begins. “Her Majesty The Queen has summoned you for an audience with her, in an hour.” Martha has to hold back a groan, she does not want to see that old bat. 

“Can’t you tell her I’m sick or something?” Martha asks. 

“I tried m’am but she insisted. Shall I send a car for you?” Thomas asks. Martha sighs. 

“Yes please Thomas, when do I have to meet her?”

“As soon as possible M’am, would you like me to come help you get ready or anything?” He asks. 

“No, thank you but I’m quiet alright.” 

After hanging up the phone, Martha quickly changes into something presentable, just pulling her shoes on as the car pulls up outside the house. 

After 2 and a half hours in the car, Martha is glad when they reach Buckingham Palace, it means she can finally get out and stretch her legs, all that sitting hasn’t been good for her hip pain either. 

She is greeted at the entrance to the palace by one of The Queen’s staff members, who walks her to the drawing room where The Queen holds most of her audiences, including those with the Prime Minister. 

“Princess Martha to see you, M’am.” The staff member informs Mary, when they arrive at the room. 

“Very good, take a seat Martha.” Queen Mary says in her usual calm tone, sitting on the edge of her chair with her back straight and her hands folded in her lap. 

Martha makes a slow and awkward descent onto the low couch, struggling with her bump in the way. 

“You look tired.” The Queen notes, looking Martha over. 

“I am tired, I’m growing another person, it’s hard work.” Martha says in a defensive tone, resting her hands on her bump. The Queen purses her lips. 

“Mmm yes, about that.” She sits up a little straighter and looks Martha straight in the eyes. “I’ve just been in a meeting with Parliament this morning, and we all agree that is in The Crown and the public’s best interest if you terminate your pregnancy, immediately.” Martha doesn’t even the energy to be angry or shocked, she’s simply fed up and disgusted. 

“No, absolutely not.” She firmly says. The Queen sighs. 

“I can see this is going to be difficult, I hope this can help you.” she slides a piece of paper across the coffee table, over to Martha. When Martha realizes what it is, she wants to be sick. It’s a cheque for 50 million pounds, made out to Martha. 

“All that.” Mary begins. “Is yours if you have the abortion, it will be a simple procedure you won’t even be conscious for, I will arrange for everything, you just need to go to the hospital and have the procedure done. 50 million pounds, for a simple surgical procedure.” Martha has truly never felt a rage like this before or such a strong repulsion to someone. 

Taking a deep breath to ward off the tears, Martha picks up the cheque, making The Queen’s face light up, she thinks Martha is accepting the cheque. 

“Excellent, I knew you would see sense, now_” Before The Queen can continue, Martha rips the check in half, then in quarters, and continues to rip it until it is in tiny shreds, then stands up with the shreds in her hands and does something nobody has ever dared to do before. 

Martha throws the shredded paper at Queen Mary and in a tone full of rage, spits out 

“Fuck your money and fuck you, you Tory scumbag eugenicist.” With that, Martha turns on her heal and storms out of the palace. 

Over the next few weeks and months, Martha and Philip are subject to many, many cruel words and opinions online. A lot of people believe that Martha cheated on Philip and got pregnant, as there is no way a Royal baby would be ‘impure.’ 

One of the worst things they see, is when Martha is 7 months pregnant, she has been trying to stay off social media for her own mental health, but she got sucked in today and has succumbed to the endless scrolling on Facebook and Twitter.

After a few hours of scrolling, a tweet sharing a petition and asking people to sign, catches her eye. Martha is always eager to share and sign petitions, however this one is different. This one is not a petition to provide free menstrual products or to demand justice for someone. The headline of the petition reads 

**‘Petition to make Princess Martha have an abortion.’**

There’s more text underneath it, and already millions of signatures. 

“Philip.” Martha says in a breathy tone. “H-have you seen this?” 

“Seen what, my love?” Philip asks, putting his book down to give his wife all his attention. 

“This... this petition, to make me have an abortion. My god Philip how sick can people be? How can people hate this sweet little baby just because she has an extra chromosome? I don’t understand it.” Martha is now full on sobbing, wishing she could escape this living nightmare. 

“Oh Martha, I don’t understand it either, and I can’t believe these are the people we’re meant to lead and serve. Maybe... maybe we should leave England for a while, it’s not good for you to be here right now, and the stress it’s causing you is not good for our little one either.” 

“Where would we go?” Martha sniffs, leaning her head against Philip’s chest. 

“To America maybe? We could rent somewhere for a short period of time, and we could see Henry and Alex a lot, help them with their wedding plans and such.” Philip suggests, liking the idea of being close to his brother again, especially now they have a much better and healthier relationship. 

“I... I quiet like that idea.” Martha agrees. 

Over the next couple of weeks, they start to pack up some things and let their friends and family know that they’re going to leave for a while to get out of the public eye. Queen Mary of course tries to forbid it but in the end she can’t physically stop them getting on that plane.

A week after telling everyone about leaving for a while, Ellen reaches out to Martha and Philip and offers for them to stay at The White House for however long they like, she tells them they would be very welcomed guests and have the protection of both their PPOs as well as Secret Service Agents, like Cash and Amy. 

After talking about it and thinking it over for a while, Martha and Philip agree. They don’t know Ellen incredibly well, but every time they met her she’s been incredibly kind and welcoming, and it would be nice to have the extra security. Just days after that, they say their goodbyes and start off on the long journey to America. 

The plane ride isn’t exactly pleasant, but it’s not unpleasant either. Martha suffers awfully with motion sickness practically the whole time, so by the time they arrive in DC almost 8 hours later, Martha is exhausted, dehydrated and feeling like complete shit. Thankfully though they don’t have to worry about driving, as Shaan has very kindly offered to pick them up from the airport and take them to The White House. 

Mercifully the car ride from the airport to The White House is very short, only 10 or so minutes. When they arrive, Martha and Philip can clearly see Ellen and Leo standing at the front of The White House, waiting to greet them. 

“You go ahead inside Mazzy, I’ll help Shaan with the bags.” Philip softly tells Martha once they’re out of the car, slipping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. Martha simply nods and makes her way over to Ellen and Leo, hoping she doesn’t look too awful. 

“Your Royal Highness.” Ellen is the first to greet Martha, who feels like the furthest thing from a Princess right now. 

“Just call me Martha, no need for formalities, we’re practically family after all.” Martha says, trying to inject some joy into her tone, but feeling far too tired and sick to do so. 

“Well then you have to call me Ellen, no ‘Madam President’ or ‘Ms Claremont’.” Ellen replies with a warm smile. 

“And just call me Leo, I don’t like formalities either.” Leo chimes in a cheerful tone. 

“Come inside and get settled sugar, you look absolutely exhausted, was the flight rough?” Ellen gently asks, dropping her exterior of President and changing into- as she calls it- mom mode. 

“Yes very, I had motion sickness practically the whole way from London.” Martha says in a breathy tone, as Ellen places a gentle hand on her back and guides her inside, Leo following behind. 

“Oh your poor thing, I know exactly how you feel, I was sick my entire pregnancy with Alex, had to be hospitalized and everything. Are you hungry, or would you just prefer something to drink? Water, or maybe tea? I know Henry always takes tea when he and Alex come visit.” Ellen’s warm and concerned tone allows Martha to relax for the first time in months, back home she always felt she had to be extremely careful of what she said, even just talking casually with Catherine or Bea, in case a reporter or someone overhead and twisted her words. 

“I wouldn’t mind a sandwich or something light, if it’s no trouble. Just so I can take something for this headache.” Martha replies, pushing her hair out of her face and rubbing at her pounding forehead. 

“I’ll go ahead and ask the kitchen to send up a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of water.” Leo decides, wanting to be useful in some way. 

An hour later Martha is feeling much better, having had something to eat, drinking plenty of water and taken a painkiller for her headache. Curled up in bed with Philip, she manages to fall into a peaceful and easy sleep for the first time in months. 

As the weeks progress and turn into months, Martha and Philip find themselves feeling more and more at ease, they’re not in the public eye at all now, so talk about them and the baby has died down significantly. They get to see Henry and Alex quiet often, and Ellen and Leo are wonderful hosts and wonderful company. Ellen teaches Martha all her tips and tricks for getting through the last difficult few weeks of pregnancy, and helps ease her worries about becoming a new mother. 

1 month into their stay, after having a lovely dinner with Ellen, Leo, Henry and Alex, Martha approaches her husband with a big decision she’s made. 

“Philip, I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about staying out of the public eye and what will happen in the next couple of weeks and I... well I’ve decided that I want to stay here in America for another while, I want to have the baby here, I feel safer here.” Martha tells her husband, cradling her bump as she sits on the edge of the bed, while Philip gets ready for bed.

“If that’s what you want my love, I’ll always support you Martha, if you’re happy and comfortable staying here for a while longer then that’s what we’ll do.” Philip assures her in a soft tone, taking a seat beside her on the bed and taking her hands in his. 

“Are you sure? Don’t you miss your mum and Bea terribly?” Martha wearily asks, knowing how much she herself misses her own mother and siblings. 

“I do but we can keep Face Timing them everyday, and maybe they’ll come visit when baby gets here. Harsh as it may sound Maz, I’d rather keep you and our baby safe and happy and never see my mum and Bea in person again, then see mum and Bea everyday but not have you and baby happy and safe.” Philip’s tone is soft and full of love and protectiveness. 

“I love you, we both do.” Martha softly says, taking one of Philip’s hands and laying it across her bump. He grins and leans in to kiss Martha, before lowering his head and kissing her bump softly. 

“I love you too, both of you.” 

The next 3 months are some of the smoothest and least stressful of Martha’s pregnancy, sure she’s tired a lot and still feels awfully nauseous some days, but it’s all so much more bearable without constantly being scrutinized and harassed by the public and the media. 

They talk to Catherine and Bea practically everyday, over Face Time. They’re both extremely supportive and understanding of Philip and Martha’s choice to stay in America until after the baby is born, and insist on coming over 3 weeks before the baby is due, and staying for at least 3 more weeks after baby is born, that way they’ll get sufficient time to bond with the baby and help out as well. Henry and Alex have also decided to come up from NY for a while around the baby’s due date too, Alex finishes up his second year at law school almost exactly 2 weeks before Martha’s due date, and has 11 whole weeks off, before starting his 3rd and penultimate year of law school, so they’ll be able to help out with baby too.

Ellen has very kindly offered them the use of any room of their choice as a nursery for the baby, but Philip and Martha have decided it’s not necessary, they’re grateful and thankful for Ellen’s offer, but are more comfortable with the idea of co-sleeping and keeping baby in their room, just like they’ll be doing when they eventually go back to London.

2 weeks before her due date, in early July, Martha starts to notice signs and symptoms of her going into labor, such as noticing that baby has definitely dropped, her fatigue and back ache are worsening and she has a strong ‘nesting’ instinct. 

Despite all this, she still insists Philip go out for lunch with Henry so they can catch up. Philip is hesitant to leave her, but Martha insists and he also knows that 1. If anything happens, he won’t be too far away and end up missing the baby’s birth. and 2. Martha is in very safe hands here at The White House, with Ellen always keeping an eye on Martha, treating her as her own daughter.

However 40 minutes after Philip and Henry leave, Martha begins to seriously regret her decision to insist Philip go out for lunch, when she starts experiencing intense sharp pains in her lower abdomen. The first one is so bad and takes Martha by such shock that she can do nothing but wait for it to end, not remembering any of the pain management and relief techniques that she and Philip have learned over the last 9 months, since Martha decided to do hypno-birthing. 

When the pain passes after approximately a minute, but what feels like hours, Martha shakily gets off the bed and slowly starts to walk down the corridor, hoping to find Alex, Ellen or Leo, or even a staff member, anyone who can help her. 

After about 10 minutes of walking, Martha is hit by another pain, stopping her in her tracks. She leans against the wall beside her, scrunching her face up in pain and trying so desperately to control her breathing or visualize hours from now, when she finally gets to meet and hold her baby. However the pain proves too strong and soon overwhelms Martha, flushing anything but the focus of how intense this pain is, from her mind.

About a minute later, when the pain finally starts to subside and Martha tunes back into her surroundings, she hears approaching footsteps and lifts her head to see Ellen coming towards her, concern written all over her face. 

“Martha.” Despite the concern written all over her face, Ellen’s tone is completely calm. “What’s going on darlin’, are you okay?” Martha shakes her head. 

“I think I’m in labor, I really hope I am anyway, because if these pains aren’t the real deal then I’m fucking terrified of what the real ones feel like.” Martha’s tone is breathy and tight, her fear is starting to take over and it’s taking all she has in her, not to panic. Is she going to be able to get through the rest of her labor without medical pain relief? Will Philip get back on time? Will the baby be okay? All these thoughts and many more race through Martha’s mind in a matter of seconds. 

“Well first things first lets get you somewhere more comfortable, a hallway isn’t the most ideal place to have this baby now is it?” Ellen gently says, brushing Martha’s hair back from her face. Then again, Ellen can’t exactly talk about less than ideal places to give birth, seeing as June was minutes away from being born in a court house in San Francisco. 

“I-I need Philip.” Martha stammers, as Ellen begins to lead her to one of the many living/drawing rooms of The White House, somewhere spacious and private she can labor, until it’s time for her to go to the hospital. 

“Don’t worry I’ll sort all of that out once we get you comfortable. Now, how many pains have you had?” Ellen gently asks. 

“I-I’m not sure, I’ve been having intense back pain all day but I thought it was just my normal back pain, then these... these... indescribable stomach cramps started happening, I’ve only had 2 so far.” 

“And how far apart are the pains?” 

“About 10 minutes I think, but I haven’t timed them.” 

“Okay then, here’s the plan.” Ellen determines, as she and Martha reach one of the drawing rooms and Ellen helps Martha sit on one of the sofas. “I’m going to call Henry and have him send Philip back. Then we need to call your OB and see if they think it’s best for you to come into hospital sooner rather than later, I’m no doctor or midwife but from my own experience having had two children, when your pains are only 10 minutes apart it likely means baby is coming very soon.” This sparks more panic in Martha. 

“H-how soon? Will I be able to make it to the hospital? I-I can’t have an unplanned home birth, especially not without Philip!” Ellen silently curses herself for her poor word choice. 

“No no no Martha it’s alright don’t panic, I’m sorry I didn’t put that right, yes your contractions being closer to together likely means baby is coming soon, but not that soon. You probably still have a few hours to go. Don’t worry, I know exactly what you’re going through, my labor with June happened very unexpectedly and very fast. It’s going to be alright, I promise.” Ellen’s soft and assuring tone and her firm words help Martha to calm down somewhat, though she doesn’t think she’ll be able to be fully calm again until she has her baby in her arms. 

Over the next half an hour Martha works through a couple more contractions while waiting for Philip to get back. Her OB recommended she come in when contractions are 5 minutes apart or when her water’s brake, neither of which has happened yet, so with Ellen helping her to stay calm and work through the pain, Martha is happy to labor here until Philip gets back.

As luck would have it, the minute Philip steps foot into the room, Martha feels a popping sensation in her lower abdomen which is shortly followed by a gush of water from between her legs, soaking the hardwood floors and Martha’s feet, ruining her socks forever. 

Philip quickly helps Martha out to the car, hardly even paying attention to the secret service agents and PPOs following them.

Once admitted to hospital, Martha endures a further 2 hours of labor, using exclusively non medical forms of pain relief, such as having Philip rub her back, using a TENs machine, breathing techniques, etc. 

And then, finally, after 6 painful hours of labor and 9 long months of waiting, on the evening of the 16th of July 2022, Martha feels her baby slip out into the OB’s awaiting hands, and her hours of pain are rewarded by the most amazing and magical sound she has ever heard, her baby’s first cries. 

“Maz.” Philip’s tone is tight as he bends to cup his wife’s face in his hands. “Maz you did it, you bloody superhero! I love you so fucking much, I am so bloody proud of you.” as Philip peppers her face with kisses, Martha feels his tears of joy drip down onto her face. If she weren’t so tired and concerned about the baby, Martha would be caught off guard. Her Philip never cries, the last time she saw him cry was the night his dad died, then he was summoned for an audience with The Queen and she never saw him cry again, until now.

“Pip, the baby are they okay?” Martha asks, straining to get a glimpse of her child. 

“Baby is perfectly healthy and well, would you like to hold her?” The OB joyfully asks. 

“Her? It’s a girl?” Philip asks in a breathy tone, as Martha holds her arms out for her baby. 

“Yes, a beautiful little girl, congratulations.” The OB says, carefully placing the still crying and squirming baby on Martha’s chest. 

The second her daughter is placed on her chest, Martha bursts into tears. Tears of joy, relief, exhaustion and more. She pulls her baby close, not caring one bit that her beautiful but expensive custom designed hospital gown (a gift from Bea) is getting smeared and stained with blood and vernix. 

“Oh hello.” Martha coos to the baby, sniffing back her tears. “Hello sweet girl, you’re so perfect and beautiful, just like I knew you would be.” Martha gently runs her fingertips over the baby’s few tufts of blonde hair. Their little one has Martha’s skin tone and bone structure, while she has blonde hair like both her mother and father. Her beautiful little face is flat, especially around the bridge of her little nose that looks almost just like Philips. Her eyes are shaped like almonds and slant upwards and her little pink tongue is poking out of her mouth, combined with her little eyes screwed shut, she looks like she’s conked out. 

“I can’t believe we made her.” Philip says in a tone of awe, stroking his daughter’s cheek. “She really is the most perfect little thing I’ve ever seen.” Martha nods her agreement, pressing a kiss to her baby’s cheek, immediately forgetting all the pain and anguish of the last 9 months, focusing simply on the joy of finally holding her baby in her arms. 

The next day after a pretty easy first night with their baby, Philip and Martha happily agree to have Catherine, Bea, Henry and Alex come meet the baby. Ellen and Leo are both busy today so unfortunately won’t be able to meet the new little Princess for another day or so.

“Oh she’s really giving me second thoughts on not having kids.” Bea sighs, as she cradles her niece who she is already totally in love with and can’t wait to spoil. 

“Henry we should have kids now, like right now.” Alex says, crouching by Bea’s chair and stroking the baby’s hair. 

“It’s not as easy for us Alex.” Henry laughs, as he snaps about a thousand pictures of Bea, Alex and the baby. 

“Have you chosen her name yet?” Catherine asks, remembering how she and Arthur struggled to come up with a name for Bea. 

“Yes we have, Maz do you want to do the honors?” Philip asks in a prideful tone, turning to smile at his wife, who smiles back at him and nods. 

“Her name is Alice Diana Elizabeth Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor.” 

Philip, Martha and baby Alice end up sending another 2 whole months in America, keeping Alice’s birth and identity a total secret from the public and the media. It of course causes a lot of outrage and rumors to fly, but they don’t care anymore, they’ve already made the choice to lessen their public presence and focus on themselves and Alice from now on.

2 months after Alice’s birth, just before they decide to head back home to London, Philip and Martha announce her birth in a very simple way, simply putting out a tweet from Kensington Palace’s official twitter page. 

_**‘‘We’re thrilled to tell you all that 2 months ago, we welcomed our perfect and sweet baby girl, Alice. - HRH Prince Philip of Wales and HRH Princess Martha of Wales.”** _

Saying goodbye to Ellen and Leo is very bittersweet for Martha and Philip. On one hand they are of course glad to be going back home, but on the other they are sad to say goodbye to The Claremonts, who have been absolutely wonderful and amazing to them the last 5 months. She doesn’t know it yet, but Martha and Philip intend on asking Ellen to be Alice’s Godmother. 

“Don’t forget, if you’re ever in America again, for the next 2 years there is always a room for you three here at The White House.” Ellen tells Philip and Martha, as they stand outside The White House, saying goodbye and preparing to leave. 

“Thank you, and you and Leo are always welcome at Anmer Hall. I honestly couldn’t have gotten through the last 2 months without you and Cat showing me the ropes.” Martha replies, trying to hold back the tears. 

“Oh sugar of course you could, but we wanted to help, it’s important that us women support and help eachother, and I know what it’s like to have your first baby without your mom by your side, my mom passed when I was pregnant with June, it made those first early days of parenthood even harder.” It’s been almost 30 years since her mother died, but Ellen still finds it incredibly difficult to talk about and she still misses her daily, and wishes so much that June and Alex could have known their grandmother. 

“Oh Ellen I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how awful that was for you.” Martha misses her mum so badly, and she’s only across the pond, at least she’ll be able to go home and hug her mum and talk to her, Ellen can never do that. Ellen smiles and squeezes Martha’s hand. 

“There’s good days and there’s bad days, I have my family to help me though so you don’t need to worry. You focus on yourself and your beautiful baby girl.”

As Martha and Ellen finish up saying goodbye, Philip has his own thanks to give, to Leo, who helped him out a lot the past 5 months. He many not have experience with a newborn, but he’s an amazing dad/step-dad and his advise has applied regardless. 

“I really can’t thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality these last few months, and occasionally keeping me company during the midnight feeds and nappy changes.” Philip chuckles, thinking of the conversations he and Leo had in the middle of the night. 

“It was all my pleasure, like I said I may not know much about new babies but I know what it’s like to suddenly have these humans in your life who are so very precious to you, and who you would do absolutely anything for.” From the moment he met Alex and June when they were 16 and 18, Leo has loved them as his own kids. He of course never crossed the line or tried to take over from Oscar, but was still there for them when they needed him, and it’s been a true pleasure getting to see them grow up, he couldn’t be more proud or ask for better step-kids. 

“Alex and June are lucky to have you, if my mum ever finds love again I can only hope he’s anywhere near as wonderful as you are.” Philip admits. He can’t say he likes the idea of his mum re-marrying, but if she married a guy like Leo, he can’t say he’d complain. 

Far too soon it’s time to head off for the airport, where they’re meeting Bea and Catherine, who are flying home with them. 

Thankfully the plane ride home is much smoother than the one over was, Alice is pretty content and Martha doesn’t have to deal with motion sickness this time.

Once they land in London, there are of course hoards of crowds waiting for them, but it’s pretty easy to hide Alice’s face from them, and their PPOs easily and swiftly deal with anyone trying to get too close.

They said their goodbyes to Catherine and Bea on the plane, so they’re able to just get in the awaiting car and head straight home.

Fortunately it doesn’t take too long to settle back into Anmer, and Alice easily adjusts to the new timezone and environment too, just happy to be with her mummy and daddy.

Everything seems to be going happily and smoothly, until 1 week after they arrive home, when there is an unexpected rap on the drawing room door one afternoon, and one of their PPOs, Jenna, steps in. 

“Sorry to interrupt, Your Highnesses, but Her Majesty The Queen is here and insisting on seeing you both, I know you don’t want visitors so I tried to have her leave but she threatened to have me arrested with treason for ignoring orders from my Queen.” Jenna winces, knowing she’ll always remember having The Queen start yelling at her, throwing a toddler like tantrum for not getting her way. 

Philip and Martha share a look, both knowing they’re never going to get rid of Mary unless they give her what she wants. 

Philip sighs. 

“Thank you Jenna, let her in please, it’s the only way to deal with her.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

A few minutes later Jenna escorts Queen Mary into the room, who looks no different than she did almost half a year ago. Same wrinkled, leather like skin, sharp gray bob and brightly colored coat and matching hat. 

“There now, was that so difficult, hm?” The Queen snaps at Jenna, who has to resist the urge to role her eyes. 

“I was following orders M’am.” Jenna replies. 

“Oh leave her alone Gran, why do you have to pick fights with absolutely everyone? Thank you Jenna, you can leave now.” Philip sighs. Jenna nods curtly and leaves the room.

“Well then.” Queen Mary states, holding herself up straight and folding her hands in front of her. “Lets see her then, the baby.”

Martha and Philip share an incredulous look. Did the woman who tried to force and bribe Martha into an abortion, really just demand to see the baby she was so vehemently against being born? 

Martha scoffs in disgust, and with Alice in her arms, stands up and walks out of the room. 

“Well now that was just rude!” Mary exclaims. Philip laughs lightly in disbelief and shakes his head. 

“You.” He begins. “You are fucking unbelievable. You tried to force and bribe Martha into having an abortion, you said all kinds of horrendous and disgusting things about our baby, tried to have us put her in a home and lie and say she died. Yet here you are demanding to see her.

I know you’re getting up there in years, Gran, but surely you recall me telling you that Martha and I want absolutely nothing more to do with you? That you are nothing to us and will most certainly not be involved in our daughter’s life? 

You may be The Queen of England, but that’s nothing more than a fancy title. You cannot play God with people’s lives. You did it with mum and now you’re trying to do it with us, first trying to constantly find someone to marry Bea from the minute she turned 18, then trying to force Henry to stay in the closet, and now trying to practice Eugenics with Martha and I? 

You are a disgusting, manipulative, monster of a person. You’re a hypocritical old hag that cares about nothing more than a stupid fucking crown and title. It’s no wonder Granddad couldn’t fucking stand you, he deserved so much better than you, he was a kind, loving, honorable and good man, the exact opposite of your pathetic little self. 

I’ll say this one last time for you Mary, I nor my wife and daughter, want anything to do with you. As far as we’re concerned, Alice’s only great-grandmother is Lady Iris, Martha’s Gran. You are nothing to us, not our family, not our Queen, nothing. 

Now I’m going to call Jenna back and have her see you out, you will not verbally assault her again, you will not put up a fuss and threaten to arrest her, or anything else. You will go quietly and peacefully, back to your sad little life at Buckingham, and stay well away from my family.” 

Without waiting for a response from Mary, Philip gets up and opens the living room door, to speak with Jenna who was waiting in the hallway. 

“Jenna could you please see Queen Mary out, and after that ensure that all the staff here are aware that she is banned and no longer welcome here?” Philip calmly asks. Jenna nods. 

“Yes sir.” 

While Jenna sees a speechless Mary out, Philip heads to he and Martha’s bedroom where he knows she went with Alice, it’s her safe place, where she always goes when upset, anxious, depressed, etc.

Sure enough, five minutes later Philip finds Martha sitting back against the headboard on their bed, her legs drawn up in front of her, Alice laying in her lap looking all around her and smiling at her mummy when she hears her voice. 

“You alright love?” Philip gently asks, taking a seat next to his wife and daughter and leaning in to kiss Martha's cheek. Martha nods. 

“Yes, just absolutely furious with The Queen, and worried for our sweet Alice. I know she can do absolutely anything she wants and we’re going to give her an amazing life, that’s not what scares me. What scares me is the thought of how the public will react if she some day chooses to have a public presence. We can see how perfect she is,why can’t they?” 

“Because they are small minded fools who don’t matter one bit.” Philip cups the back of Alice’s head and bends to kiss her forehead. 

“My sweet Alice, I love you so much, and I swear on my life to always protect you and keep you safe, forever. No matter what happens, your mummy and daddy love you so very much Alice, forever and always.” 


End file.
